XtremeMac Tango Bar for iMac Review

The Tango Bar from XtremeMac is a unique twist on the traditional desktop speaker system. Purposely designed to compliment the 24″ or even 27″ iMac, the Tango Bar is a sleek 10 watt amplified USB powered speaker with a metallic finish that will compliment your Apple products quite nicely and bring them to life with bigger sound. It can also be used as external speaker system for your laptop, iPhone, iPod, iPad or just about any other media device via its line-in jack or USB cable.

The Tango Bar has been designed to sit comfortably under your iMac, but if you want, it can be positioned to stand vertically besides it too, just as long it’s within range of a USB port which powers the device. That being said, the Tango Bar really looks great tucked under the iMac and when you plug the speaker into the computer via the USB cable, the volume speaker control dial begins to glow, and that is when its time to turn this baby up.

However, you will first need to adjust the sound settings on your iMac or Apple computer so that the sound output is set to USB port and not through your built-in speakers. Once that setting is adjusted, the speakers come to life and the volume can be controlled via the spiffy volume knob on the Tango Bar. The speakers will always be on if your computer is on. Also, while the Tango Bar is designed specifically for the 24″ iMac, it fits just fine under the 27″ iMac.

The Tango Bar is a sleek speaker that brings your devices music to life. Even though it’s merely a 10 Watt speaker bar, the sound is loud and deep in bass. The music blasting out of the speaker isn’t all that rich and sounds a bit empty at times, but it certainly sounds a whole lot better and louder than the built-in speakers on the iMac. All genres of music perform well on the Tango Bar, but surprisingly rock did a bit better than dance and pop songs. Treble and midrange are crisp and clear, but if you turn the volume to max, distortion does start to show-up. However the bass always stays consistent and thumping. Positioning of the Tango Bar is essential for getting a good listening experience, as it excels when you are sitting directly in front of it. The music sounded a bit watered down and muddy if you put the speaker to the side of you or behind it. So best to put these speakers where they will be in blasting in your face, which is right under the – iMac’s display, which is exactly where they have been designed to be placed.

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The Tango Bar is a welcome relief to iMac owners who want an improved audio experience for a reasonable price – and without cluttering up their desk and ruining their iMac’s sleek aesthetics. In comparison to the iMac’s built-in speakers, the Tango Bar provides more detail, more bass, and more volume. Certainly these speakers don’t sound nearly as intense as the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks III. But they do save real estate on your desk and provide impressive enough sound for the price point. The Tango Bar from XtremeMac retails for as low as $85.97 on Amazon.